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VOL. 97: 27 SEPTEMBER, 1947 - 5 DECEMBER, 1947
1
1. HINDUSTANI1
Shri Kakasaheb Kalelkar writes:

If the Muslims of the Indian Union affirm their loyalty to the Union, will they accept Hindustani as the national language and learn the Urdu and Nagari scripts? Unless you give your clear opinion on this, the work of the Hindustani Prachar Sabha will become very difficult. Cannot Maulana Azad give his clear opinion on the subject?

Kakasaheb says nothing new in his letter. But the subject has acquired added importance at the present juncture. If the Muslims in India owe loyalty to India and have chosen to make it their home of their own free will, it is their duty to learn the two scripts. It is said that the Hindus have no place in Pakistan. So they migrate to the Indian Union. In the event of a war between the Union and Pakistan, the Muslims of the Indian Union should be prepared to fight against Pakistan. It is true that there should be no war between the two dominions. They have to live as friends or die as such. The two will have to work in close co-operation. In spite of being independent of each other, they will have many things in common. If they are enemies, they can have nothing in common. If there is genuine friendship, the people of both the States can be loyal to both. They are both members of the same Commonwealth of nations. How can they become enemies of each other? But that discussion is unnecessary here.

The Union must have a common inter provincial speech. I will go a step further and say that if the two States are friends, Hindustani should be the common speech between the two. This does not mean that Urdu and Hindi will cease to exist as distinct forms of speech. They must continue to live and progress. But if the Hindus and the Muslims or rather people of all religions in India are friends, they must accept a common language evolved from Hindi and Urdu. They should learn the two scripts. This will be a test for the Muslims and the Hindus in the Indian Union.

It would be wrong to say that if the Muslims of the Union refuse to learn the Nagari script, Hindustani cannot become the national language. Whether the Muslims learn the Nagari script or not, the Hindus and the people of all other religions ought to learn the two scripts. It is possible that in view of the poisoned atmosphere of the

1The Hindi original of this appeared in Harijan Sevak, 5-10-1947.
THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI
2day, people may not appreciate this simple proposition. If the Hindus

wish to, they can boycott the Urdu script and Urdu words, but they will be the losers thereby. Therefore those engaged in Hindustani Prachar should not weaken in their faith or efforts. I agree that people like Maulana Azad and other prominent Muslims of the Indian Union should be the first to adopt Hindustani and the two scripts. Who will take the lead if not they? Difficult times lie ahead of us. May God guide us aright.

NEW DELHI, September 27, 1947
Harijan, 5-10-1947
2. LETTER TO NARANDAS GANDHI
September 27, 1947
CHI. NARANDAS,

One may say you are now approaching old age. You certainly have my blessings. May you serve the people for many more years. When you are too weak to serve I am not going to wish you the same. Why should you ever become too weak?

Blessings from
BAPU
From a copy of the Gujarati: Pyarelal Papers. Courtesy: Pyarelal
3. LETTER TO PREMA KANTAK
September 27, 1947
CHI. PREMA,

You have lost your father, but if you think calmly, you will realize that you have gained many fathers in place of one. All who are our seniors in age or superior to us in knowledge should be as fathers to us or, if they are women, mothers. Those who are our equals in age are our brothers and sisters, and our juniors are our sons and daughters. Then the world will never die for us. Why then do you grieve over the passing away of your father? Death, moreover, is man\u2019s true friend. Why then should we be unhappy when our dear ones meet their dearest friend? When our dear ones leave us, we should engross ourselves in service with still greater devotion.

Blessings from
BAPU
From a photostat of the Gujarati: G. N. 10456. Also C. W. 6895. Courtesy:
Prema Kantak
VOL. 97: 27 SEPTEMBER, 1947 - 5 DECEMBER, 1947
3
4. LETTER TO SAYED MAHMUD HAD
[September 27, 1947 ]1
BAHI SYED MAHMUD HAD,
Your letter has been redirected to me by theN a v a j i v a n office. It
is not necessary to publish it. I had said enough about it at Calcutta.
From the Hindi original: Pyarelal Papers. Nehru Memorial Museum and
Library. Courtesy: Beladevi Nayyar and Dr. Sushila Nayyar
5. SPEECH AT PRAYER MEETING
NEW DELHI,
September 27, 1947
BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Shall I tell you who is my special physician? He is good for me and also good for you. My physician today, in my thought, speech and action, is Rama, Ishwar, Rahim. How can He become our physician? We heard ab h a j a n addressed to the Lord who removes all miseries of mind, body and soul which human beings are subject to. Hence I felt that the best, unfailing remedy is Ramanama. I can suggest no other remedy to those who come to me. Then take some earth and water treatment. I know that one who has Ramanama inscribed in his heart needs neither earth nor water for treatment. If we are destined to live we shall live. If we have to die, let us die. No one can ride two horses at the same time. If I have faith in Ramanama I must remain firm in that. Anyone not doing so will perish. Rama is the saviour. Does the person who has installed God in his heart ever die? This body is transitory. It may be living this moment and may die the next. How then can I be proud of it? It is futile to keep the body alive when the moment of death has arrived. Guru Nanak was a great religious leader. Other Gurus who came after him did write songs of devotion but they mentioned the name of Nanak in the refrain. This is the culture of India. Perhaps such things happen in many other countries. Whatever that may be, I can only talk of the Indian culture. Mirabai was a great devotee. Mira\u2019s name is found at the end of countlessb h a j a n s. It was not she who used her name. But Mira\u2019s disciples found great satisfaction in attributing their

1The letter is written on a sheet of paper on which this date is scribbled.
of 00

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